Characters
Characters: ' ' Janie Crawford: Janie Crawford is the protagonist in this story. Eager to find love and not waste her time she gets married three times. Janie is portrayed to be beautiful and be exquisite. Her hair in particular is something that makes all men and women stare. She is also ¼ black and ¾ white. She does not find love till the last. Janie is trying to discover who she is throughout this story. She is developing her own voice and is striving to find her horizon. Janie wants to understand the true meaning of love and will not stop until she finds it. ' ' Nanny Crawford: Being Janie's grandmother was no easy task for Nanny. She is a woman who was raped by a white man during the Civil War era. This woman only wants the best for Janie and does not want Janie to be like herself and Janie's mother Leafy. All of Nannies hopes and dreams for Leafy have been transferred to Janie. Nanny sometimes goes a little overboard because of her protective nature. Nanny has been like a mother to Janie while Janie’s own mother is not to be found. ' ' Leafy Crawford: Leafy is Janie's mother who eventually left Janie to be raised by Nanny. Leafy was half black and half white. Just like her own mother Nanny, Leafy was also raped by a white man. This caused her to become pregnant with Janie. Eventually turning to alcohol, Leafy left Janie with Nanny and fled. Nanny did not want Janie to be like her mother. ' ' Johnny Taylor: This was a boy who Janie had her first sexual experience with. Janie was on the cusp of her adolescence. Johnny was the first boy who she had ever kissed and this left her wanting more. It started her journey to find love. ' ' Mr. Washburn/ Mrs.Washburn: ' ' The Washburns were a white couple with daughters who employed Nanny to be their “slave”. They were kind people who gave Nanny and Janie their own place to live in their backyard. The Washburns also held Janie’s first wedding and raised Janie with their own children. ' ' Logan Killicks: This is Janie's first husband. Nanny married Janie to him right after she found Janie kissing Johnny Taylor. The reason for this was because Nanny wanted Janie to have a man who wouldn't leave her and would keep Janie stable. Logan was approximately in his late thirties to early forties. He wanted Janie to pull her own weight in the house, so he had her work in the field. His relationship with Janie was not loving. ' ' Joseph Starks: Jody as Janie affectionately called him was her second husband. They met while she was still married to Logan. Jody eventually left with Janie and moved to Eatonville where he purchased the land and became the Mayor of the town. Jody held very non progressive views and often tried to control Janie and succeeded in doing so. Their marriage very quickly started to collapse because of Jody. Jody was in search of power. He controlled the town, the people, and Janie. ' ' Pheoby Watson: Pheoby lived in Eatonville and was Janie's best friend. She was very attentive and believed Janie when the town did not. The story starts with Janie talking to Pheoby about her life. Pheoby listens to Janie and cares about her and isn't like the rest of the town who gossips behind Janie’s back. ' ' Tea Cake: Janie's third and final husband and her one true love is who Tea cake is. He meets Janie in the Eatonville store and challenges her to a game of checkers. Tea Cake treats Janie as an equal. He doesn't suppress her and instead loves her passionately. Tea Cake is twelve years younger than Janie this does cause some problems with the townspeople. Janie and Tea Cake leave Eatonville and move to the Everglades where they both work as migrant workers. He loves Janie for what she is not what he can mold her to be. Eventually Tea Cake changes and tries to control Janie. ' ' Motorboat: A migrant worker who is friends with Janie and Teacake. Through a big hurricane he survives in a floating house. ' ' Mrs Turner: A woman who Janie befriends in the Everglades. Mrs. Turner had white features. She is very racist and is constantly trying to set Janie up with her brother. Mrs.Turner favors Janie because of her hair and white features. She explicitly has stated that she doesn’t understand how Janie married someone like Tea Cake who is so dark and beneath Janie. ' ' Mrs. Turner's Brother: The person who is kind of responsible for the events that transpire to the end of Tea Cake’s relationship. It was suggested by his sister that Janie leave Tea Cake for him.